Subject: RE: [Isis-wg] Regarding document for best current practices

From: Les Ginsberg <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 13:16:15 -0800

> 
> 
>  | Modulo Tony Li's opinion, if we see enough cycles of 
> cluefull people 
>  | being committed to make an update of RFC1195 happen, 
> that's something
>  | that can be talked about. 
> 
> 
> No disagreement.  However, folks should understand that it 
> will still be
> informational.
> 
> Tony
>

But isn't that precisely the problem? Significant revisions to the protocol
have been and are being made via this work group. At the same time, and even
more so these days because of the introduction of IP to the SONET world, the
ISO/ITU community is also making revisions. But in terms of specifications,
there is no real attempt to integrate. So we end up with confusion - and
what is even worse - interoperability issues. 

The fact that things have worked as well as they have thus far is
principally because:

a)Since 1992 the ISO world has made only minor revisions/corrections to the
protocol

b)Many of the folks who developed the 1992 spec have remained involved in
this WG and have kept the IP world mindful of interoperability issues

But that is changing. The work going on within the ITU on revising the rules
for supporting multiple protocols (IP and CLNP in their case) will have
significant impact on the protocol - and relates closely to IPV4/IPV6 issues
in the IP only world.

It is definitely true that interest in the ISO world per se is virtually
nil. As Micah has pointed out those people within ISO who took the time to
comment on the 2001 draft were, with one exception,  participants in this WG
as well. So it would be foolish to believe that ISO will somehow manage to
produce a document that incorporates the changes from the IP world. (For
that matter, I wonder how the ITU folks expect their changes to be reflected
in the ISO spec.)

I know that considerable politics is (unfortunately) involved here - perhaps
it is simply unworkable - but believing in possibilities is still a good
thing.

   Les
_______________________________________________
Isis-wg mailing list  -  [email-masked]
http://external.juniper.net/mailman/listinfo/isis-wg

---

From: Tony Li <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 13:45:37 -0800

| But isn't that precisely the problem? 

If you have a magic wand, Les, don't keep it to yourself.  Until and unless
ISO freely gives us control of the spec, they own it.  Period.

Tony